


Champion

by parabolica (orphan_account)



Category: Pawns and Symbols - Majliss Larson, Star Trek - Various Authors
Genre: F/M, ToT: Chocolate Box
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 06:20:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12426777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/parabolica
Summary: Tirax keeps on surprising her.





	Champion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sandrine Shaw (Sandrine)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandrine/gifts).



Jean left the meeting room with a smile on her face and the thick taste of _khizr_ on her tongue. Her head buzzed, responding to the mixture of triumph and too much stimulant. Strange how she always prepared herself for the heavier gravity of a Klingon ship, but she always forgot how powerful a kick the _khizr_ delivered.

No matter. She’d succeeded in getting a roomful of Klingon commanders to listen to her plan. For the first time since she’d left Aernath and Sherman’s planet, Jean felt as if she was truly making a difference. Maybe she’d never rank with the likes of Captain Kirk and his crew, but she was playing a role in Federation politics, smoothing over diplomatic cracks and suggesting new ways of forging alliances. Not bad for a scientist!

Her smile faded as she moved down the corridor. The commanders had listened to her, voted almost unanimously to accept her idea, because she was Kang’s _Thelerrin_. Tirax had made sure of that.

Jean gritted her teeth. She’d hoped never to see him again, but he was like the proverbial bad penny, always turning up. Not that he’d understand the proverb. He seemed to take delight in misunderstanding everything she said, especially during the meeting. He’d patronised her, calling her qualifications into question, reminding the other commanders that she’d been a bonds-woman.

Her chin came up. She’d given a good account of herself, she knew she had. She’d thrown his male Klingon superiority complex into disarray over and over, just as she’d bested him before. And if waving her badge of _Thelerrin_ ensured peace and valuable trade links with the rock-planet Pyxhis, then so be it.

The hiss of a door opening recalled her to where she was. The lights in this part of the ship were dim, courtesy of the sleep-cycle. Despite the filtered air, she could smell musk and heat. Her brain had scarcely registered that she was no longer alone when Tirax stepped out and blocked her path.

“Human.” His expression was impassive, with no sign of the anger he’d exhibited during the meeting. “You spoke well.”

Jean stood tall, her back straight. “No thanks to you trying to twist my words. Why did you do it? You know the deal with Pyxhis makes sense for your people.”

He raised an eyebrow. “ _My_ people? Are you not one of us—an honorary Klingon?”

She wanted to scoff at the notion, but in truth her time as Kang’s consort and then as Aernath’s lover had ruined her in terms of contracting relationships with any other species, including humans. There was something about a Klingon male that called to her, primitive and exciting. Dangerous. Maybe it was her rational scientist’s mind, but she liked the idea of bringing order to chaos, taming something wild, meeting the challenge of a dangerous mate…

“If I’m an honorary Klingon, why did you try so hard to undermine me?”

Tirax looked surprised. “Is that what you thought I was doing?”

She stared at him. “What, I’m supposed to believe you were _helping_ me back there? All those reminders of my _Thelerrin_ status, all the little digs about my skills and education and experience?”

He gazed down at her for a while in silence, then said, “We are Klingons. We respect warfare and strength, knowledge wielded by power. You are human. Weak, soft-hearted. You needed a champion in that meeting. Someone to challenge you to ensure that you’d win.”

Heat flushed her face as she realised the truth of what he was saying. “You provoked me. Deliberately. You threw down the gauntlet, knowing I’d pick it up. You were trying to pick a fight.”

Tirax shrugged his massive shoulders. “I succeeded. You won. And in doing so, the commanders were swayed to your plan—not because you are Kang’s _Thelerrin_ , but because you bested me.”

Jean stumbled back, the gravity suddenly seeming too much for her. The atmosphere, too—surely it had thinned? Her pulse raced, and warmth spiralled through her. “You helped me.” Her voice was soft, hitching with her breath. “Why?”

He leaned closer, bending over her, forcing her to retreat until her back was to the wall. “Because your plan had merit. Because you are under the Emperor’s protection. Or perhaps,” his tone darkened, became as rich and slow as syrup, “because I enjoy a challenge.”

She met his gaze, read the passion there, anger and lust and admiration.

“One day I will defeat you, human.” His voice was a sensual rumble. “There can only be one ultimate victor in our duel.”

Jean smiled, her defiance edged with the blaze of arousal. “Well, then, my champion… I look forward to our next fight.”


End file.
